Mr Hollande is facing criticism from all sides. Marine Le Pen, the far-Right leader, last week called for an end to the "absurd politics of endless austerity". François Fillon, the mainstream Right former prime minister, warned France is heading "towards catastrophe".

Commentators have likened his chances of surviving the torrent of bad news to that of a plumber dealing with a tsunami.

Recession will strike this year, the European Commission forecast on Friday, revising down already barely visible growth to minus 0.1 per cent.

Unemployment reached an all-time high last month, with 3.2 million jobless, while public debt will hit 94 per cent of GDP this year.

"Mr Weak" as some now call him, continues to insist that all could come right, despite now being the least popular president ever with a 75 per disapproval rating.

To those who claim he has achieved little, he responds: "If there is one thing I am sure of, it's that I have taken major decisions for France – many more in 10 months than were taken in 10 years."

He points to reforms including a historic labour law agreed in January that will give companies more flexibility and boost French competitiveness.

Others include creating a new public investment bank and 20 billion euros (£12.8 billion) in tax credits for businesses to create jobs.

Abroad, he won plaudits for sending French troops to tackle Islamist rebels in Mali.

Things could finally be going his way in Europe too despite the furore over a controversial Socialist Party document leaked last week accusing Angela Merkel of "selfish intransigence".

While the spat may have deepened contempt in Germany of France, even close allies like Slovakia are now calling for less austerity. Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform said: "The Germans have to be pragmatic enough to realise they are losing the argument and have got to soften, which will make it easier for Hollande to claim he has helped to push the EU into a more growth-oriented strategy."

On Friday, the European Commission granted France a two-year reprieve on reducing its deficit to three per cent of GDP, in a further boost to Mr Hollande.

Despite this, the consensus in France points to an indecisive leader whose policy zigzags cancel each other out. His habit of allowing cabinet members to bicker in public over policy differences has only further muddied the waters.

Political commentator Alain Duhamel, said he must admit that although he pandered to the anti-capitalist Left during his campaign, he is essentially a centre-Left leader intent on reining in deficit and debt.

"Right from the start, he has had a social democrat strategy, which he is rolling out progressively. But the basic error he made has been not to publicly stand by his choices."

The true tests lie in the coming months, when the government finally outlines how it intends to cut state spending and faces protests over pension reform.

Mr Hollande is convinced his historically low popularity is simply linked to France's record unemployment.

As his predecessor Jacques Chirac put it: "You must wait for the end of the country fair to count the cowpats."

Only then can the country truly decide whether he is "Mr Smart" or "Mr I Haven't a Clue".